Chat Reel: Carolyn Peck

Posted: Tuesday March 28, 2000 01:04 PM

Carolyn Peck helps break down the Elite Eight. Todd Warshaw/Allsport

Orlando Miracle coach and former coach for the 1999 NCAA champion Purdue Boilermakers Carolyn Peck recently chatted with users about the Women's NCAA tournament and some happenings in the WNBA. A transcript of the chat with Peck follows:

CNNSI.com Host Welcome to today's chat with Orlando Miracle coach and coach for the 1999 NCAA champion Purdue Boilermakers Carolyn Peck. Hi coach. Thanks for joining us.
Carolyn Peck: Hi!

From Guest: How easy or difficult has it been going from coaching a national champion to an expansion team?
Carolyn Peck: Well, it was difficult because we had to put a team together. I was fortunate at Purdue to start my career with a lot of talent on the existing team.

From Guest: Hi coach! Will you be going to the Final Four? Do you have your eye on any players to join you in Orlando?
Carolyn Peck: I will be going to the Final Four. There are some talented players on the teams still playing. And on the teams that have been eliminated. But to list one particular player, I couldn't do that right now.

From Guest: Great job at Purdue last year. We miss you in West Lafayette. What has it been like making the jump from the college game to the WNBA? What do you miss about the college game?
Carolyn Peck: More than anything, I miss the players I had at Purdue and my staff. They were great to work with. In a true sense of the word, we were a family.

From Mike: From Guest: What do you think women's sports is going to look like in 15 years in terms of audience interest. It has come a long way already. Where is it going to go?
Carolyn Peck: I think that if it continues to progress like it is now, it'll be recognized as just another sport, not as women's sports.

From Guest: Hi Coach. I was wondering if you get much support from the NBA Orlando Magic. Do any of the NBA players attend your home games?
Carolyn Peck: Absolutely! Our biggest fans are Dale Armstrong and Chuckie Atkins has told me he wants seats behind our bench. The Magic are extremely supportive. Bo Outlaw has come to our practices, too.

From Guest: There are some great matchups in the Elite Eight. I'm really excited about the La. Tech/Penn State matchup. Penn State seems to be on a mission. Do you see an upset in the making.
Carolyn Peck: Well, I see that both teams are playing very well right now. Both teams have extreme motivation right now. Penn State wants to play in their home state and La. Tech wants to send Coach Leon Barmore out right. It's just a shame one of those teams has to lose. I think that they have a good shot, they're very talented and very strong at all 5 starting positions. It'll be an interesting Final Four, with the teams that could be possibly there.

From James Pethel: Your hometown is very proud of you! How much influence did your experiences in Jefferson City have on your excellent career? Any one person make a difference?
Carolyn Peck: I think that growing up in Jefferson City had a lot to do with it. My family was my biggest influence. They instilled the importance of taking care of each other.

From Guest: I think my LSU Tigers are going to be the one No. 3 seed in the Final Four! But how do you think they matchup against a tough UConn team?
Carolyn Peck: It'll be a great matchup. LSU is extremely athletic. To their advantage and disadvantage they don't have a true center. They have a lot of balanced athletes and that can play into their favor.

From Guest: Do you think that the home court advantage in the NCAA tournament of the top seeded teams (in the first couple of rounds) is unfair? Carolyn Peck: No, I think that right now it's something you play for all during the year. Something about playing good throughout the season for a good seed in conference tournament, if you have one, and playing at home in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

From Guest What do you think of the Tennessee making another title run?
Carolyn Peck: I think that Tennessee definitely has really done a lot of growing as the year went on. It hasn't been the walk in the park that some Tennessee teams have had. They've been challenged this year. It always seems to pay off when it gets to bet this time of year.

From Todd Kort: Congratulations on the excellent job you and your staff did to make Orlando very competitive in its first year in the WNBA. As you build your team and prepare for the WNBA draft, roughly what percentage of Orlando's scouting or recruiting effort goes into evaluating players on other WNBA teams, US college players, and players in other countries?
Carolyn Peck: You can't spend a lot of time on evaluating players on other WNBA teams because it's up to the other GM and coaches if can have the player on their team. We evaluate ABL Players and other players that did not sign to come into the league last year. We evaluate college players, if we didn't see them in person we watch game film. It's broken up into experience professional players and how do some college players rank against them.

CNNSI.com Host That's all the time we have for today. Thanks for joining us today coach. Good luck in the draft!
Carolyn Peck: Thank you!

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